Ubisoft Far Cry 2 review

Far Cry 2 is more of a spiritual successor to theoriginal than a sequel.

The story puts you in an unnamed African country in the midst of a civil war. You play a mercenary, and your job is to take out an arms dealer known as The Jackal - the man who armed the country's two warring factions. You have to work with both sides, taking on the missions that they throw your way.

Each mission can be completed in numerous ways. Similar to Crysis, Far Cry 2's landscape is wide open, and provides a massive 50 square kilometres for you to roam in. However, it isn't just the size of the map that affects how you approach your tasks, but also the time of day, how windy it is and the landscape.

For example, if you need to take out a military leader in a jungle fortress, it's best to set the alarm in your safe house to wake you in the middle of the night. Then you can sneak in undetected and get the job done quickly. Alternatively, you might have to destroy a weapons pile in a shanty town. Shoot an oil drum nearby and the exploding weapons should waste all the guards at the same time.

One of Far Cry 2's highlights is fire. On windy days, it spreads quickly on the arid plains, making it a powerful weapon. Of course, you can still get up close and use pistols or your machete if you want to. The weapons you find on the ground look rusty and usually jam at the worst possible moment, so it's better to buy them from the shop.

Far Cry 2's lighting and weather effects are the best we've ever seen. Get caught in a gunfight in a downpour, and both the visuals and surround sound will set your pulse racing. Typhoon winds can quickly turn clear, sunny skies hazy, and there are some stunning sunsets to be seen. The African music adds to the ambience, being gentle when things are calm, but turning to a roar of drums in the heat of battle.

There are plenty of side missions to keep you entertained, which earn you weapon upgrades and extra diamonds to buy guns and ammo. There's a traditional health bar - let it get too low and you'll have to pull shrapnel from parts of your body before you can inject a syringe to restore full health. Multiplayer modes don't break any new ground, but the map editor means you can create your own maps and download those made by others.

Thanks to its incredible realism, the intimidating scale of the landscape and the huge single-player campaign, Far Cry 2 is a must-have for any shooter fan. Just bear in mind that you'll need a relatively powerful PC to play it on.